In a reading comprehension test, I heard accelerator as [ɪk|seləreɪtə(r)] not [ək|seləreɪtə(r)]
I mean ac(ək) was pronounced as [ik], Is it common in American English?
or did I mishear the schwa sound?
/ɪ/ and /ə/ are very similar and often interchangeable in AmE. In fact the "correct" transcription should be "-ɪk."
Are you sure? you hear /æ/ like CAT vowel, even though it (ac) is not stressed.
syllable division: ac-CEL-e-RA-tor
/æ/ is possible and so are /ɪ/, /ə/ and perhaps even /ɛ/. So say the dictionaries I have access to.